Kyrgios crashes out
SA’s Anderson maintains good form on clay as Aussie loses his cool
AN angry Nick Kyrgios was knocked out of the French Open yesterday, going down 5-7 6-4 6-1 6-2 to South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.
The temperamental Australian destroyed two rackets, including one that he smashed six times onto a cooler, and he was handed a penalty point at the end of the second set. The 18th seed has never made it past the third round at the Paris grand slam. The two players have met only once – last year – and Anderson was victorious then too. The big serving Anderson has had a good run on clay this year as he tries to climb the rankings after battles with injuries in 2016.
He next faces Britain’s Kyle Edmund. On the doubles court South Africa’s Raven Klaasen and his American partner Rajeev Ram were bounced out in the second round of the doubles, losing 7-5 6-4 to the big-hitting Czechs, Roman Jebavý and Jiri Vesely.
In other men’s singles action, Juan Martin del Potro offered a wailing Nicolas Almagro a shoulder to cry on after the Spaniard’s French Open campaign was cut short by a knee injury.
After splitting the first two sets, the second-round match was evenly poised at 1-1 in the third when Almagro simply could not bear the pain in his knee anymore.
Covering his face, the sobbing 31-yearold bent over behind the baseline before collapsing onto his back.
That prompted Del Potro, whose own career has been blighted by a string of injuries, to climb over the net and offer some comfort to his stricken opponent.
Del Potro helped his sobbing rival back to his bench and after Almagro had smashed a bottle of water, the Argentine packed the Spaniard’s bag and rubbed his head for a couple of minutes – prompting a standing ovation from the crowd.
“I tried to find the right words at that moment. I said ‘try to think of your family and your baby’,” Del Potro, who could have retired from yesterday’s match because of a groin problem, told a news conference.
Argentine 29th seed Del Potro will next face world number one Andy Murray – if he is fit.
He is only playing in his third grand slam event since the 2014 Australian Open, after a succession of wrist injuries.
“Today I got lucky because I felt not good enough in my body,” he said. I felt something in my groin in middle of first set.
“I now have one and a half days to feel better.”
World No 3 Stan Wawrinka came out on top in his slugfest with Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov win 6-4 7-6(5) 7-5.
The 2015 French Open champion, who has yet to drop a set here, may have won in three sets but it was tougher than it looked against Dolgopolov, a former top20 player.
They broke each other once early in the first set and both players aggressively looked for quick winners with their rallies lasting an average of 2.8 shots.
But the 32-year-old Wawrinka, aiming to become only the third man in the professional era to win three or more slams after turning 30, squeezed in another break to snatch the first set with a fierce backhand down the line.
Kei Nishikori survived an injury scare and Jeremy Chardy’s late revival to advance into the third round with a 6-3 6-0 7-6(5) victory.
The Japanese eighth seed had to call on the trainer to have his chest massaged early in the third set.
Despite that setback, he dug in to ensure he did not have to stay on court longer than necessary, wrapping up the win with a backhand winner.
He will next take on South Korea’s Chung Hyeon.
Ninth seed Agnieszka Radwanska lived up to her nickname as the “Professor” when she dug deep into her toolbox of tactics to repel tenacious qualifier Alison Van Uytvanck 6-7(3) 6-2 6-3 in the second round.
The Pole said she had a point to prove at Roland Garros after her 2016 meltdown – when she squandered a 6-2 3-0 lead in soggy conditions – in a shock defeat against Tsvetana Pironkova.
Simona Halep, Paris finalist in 2014, strolled into the third round with a no-nonsense 6-4 6-3 victory against German Tatjana Maria. – Reuters